NFL Analysis
10/25/24
9 min read
2025 NFL Draft: Ranking Top-10 Running Backs
The 2025 NFL Draft will enjoy a robust infusion of running backs into the league this spring. The field is crowded, and the race is on. Well, that is with the exception of the top spot.
Despite the lack of positional value that teams have approached the position with in recent history, this does feel like a collection of runners that could potentially help swing back the pendulum in favor of ball carriers.
The running back market enjoyed a few wins with contract extensions this past offseason, and 2-high safety looks have primed the league’s ability to run the ball. Which rookies are best aligned to take advantage?
Here’s a way-too-early snapshot of the top of the running back class as the midway point of the 2024 college football season arrives.
>> READ MORE: Latest The 33rd Team Mock Draft
Early Top 10 2025 NFL Draft RB Rankings
1. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State 
What else can you really say? Jeanty is an absolute nightmare on the gridiron and has a number of parallels to each of the running backs fortunate enough to have had their name called in the top-10 overall picks in the last decade. The question is not, “Is Ashton Jeanty RB1?” The question is, “By how much is Ashton Jeanty RB1?”
The answer is by a great margin. There are other gifted runners in this class, including several that could and should warrant consideration by the middle of the second round of the draft.
But Jeanty’s elite contact balance, vision, and big-play ability are at a level we haven’t seen in years. Here’s to a healthy second half of the 2024 season for him.
>> READ MORE: Deep Dive Into What Makes Jeanty Special
2. Nicholas Singleton, Penn State 
This may be a bit of a surprise, but I’m a really big fan of Singleton. As part of a running back timeshare in Happy Valley, this won't be the kind of production profile that leaps off the screen at you.
However, on a per-touch basis, Singleton has got his groove back after a bit of a statistical regression in 2023. He’s found the explosive play ability that put him squarely on everyone’s map as a potential “next Jonathan Taylor” back in 2022.
If you know anything about the Penn State football program, you’ll know one of their calling cards is the fruit bore by their strength and conditioning program. They build elite athletes — and Singleton has got next in addition to his innate ability to impact the game on passing downs.
Players who are built like Singleton, move like Singleton, and offer the versatility that Singleton does are easy to buy in on.
3. Omarion Hampton, North Carolina 
Hampton is an impressive talent who is doing the most with the least among the top-10 ranked running backs on this way-too-early list. No back on this top-10 list has more carries than Hampton at the time of publication.
Only one runner, Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II, is getting fewer yards before contact from his offensive line than Hampton’s 1.38 yards before contact per carry thus far this season. Talk about doing the heavy lifting.
Hampton is delightfully fluid for a player of his stature. He runs hard and is quick to put tacklers on their heels and challenge them with his aggressive running style. I wholly appreciate the way he embraces dirty yards and how he reduces his pads to slip through small creases in the front to ensure he’s on schedule with his carries.
But don’t sleep on his ability to use his changeup every now and again to deke you in the hole.
4. Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State 
Judkins, like Singleton, is part of a talented tag team of running backs, which eats into his opportunities to be a featured player and rack up big-time stats.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a position that often has the “mileage” and “tread on the tires” inspected. After averaging 291 touches from scrimmage across his first two seasons, halving Judkins' workload likely will do him well as he preps for the NFL Draft process at Ohio State.
Judkins has perhaps the best wiggle and elusiveness of any player in this group — he’ll force missed tackles in tight spaces and is quicker than a hiccup when needing to cut back across the grain. I wish he were a bit more developed in the passing game. I think each of the three names ahead of him offers more value on passing downs at this stage, and that hurts him within this tier of talented backs.
5. Kaleb Johnson, Iowa Hawkeyes 
If Jeanty weren’t knocking on the door of some of Barry Sanders’ single-season records, we’d probably be talking more about how Kaleb Johnson is flirting with a 2,000-yard season for the Hawkeyes.
He’s been sublime and doesn’t have a lot of help this season within the Iowa offense. The Hawkeyes boast a diverse run scheme with good blockers up front, but Johnson is a polished outside zone runner who glides across the grass. The explosive long speed will be a big piece of just how high he ends up being coveted when the draft rolls around.
Johnson trusts his blocks to capture their angles and does well to press the line of scrimmage and make those blocks right with his cuts, whether that means running straight to the perimeter or sticking his foot in the ground and making a hard cut to attack a gap.
6. TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State Buckeyes
Henderson is the “other” Ohio State running back, but ironically enough, he was a Buckeye long before Judkins played in Columbus. Henderson was a true freshman star for Ohio State back in 2021 when he posted more than 1,500 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns. Things since then have been, well, quiet.
Henderson battled a foot injury in 2022, missing five games in the process with a broken bone. He then missed three games in 2023 with an undisclosed injury after taking a “cheap shot” against Notre Dame.
He looks like he’s working at full capacity this season while sharing the load with Judkins. The lateral quicks and acceleration out the gate pop the most, but the lingering durability questions hurt his ranking in the hierarchy.
7. Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State 
2024 was supposed to be the encore for Gordon II, but things haven’t gone to plan. An All-American in 2023 with 2,062 yards and 22 touchdowns, Gordon's production has fallen off in a big way this season.
To be fair, his offensive line is giving him nearly a full 1.50 yards less before contact per carry this season versus last year, but the value of running backs in the pros is often measured by what you bring to the table yourself.
Gordon II developed a reputation for being a violent downhill runner during that All-American season in 2023, but it hasn't shown up as consistently this year.
Gordon II had a big game against BYU — going off for more than 100 yards and multiple scores. Is that a sign of things to come? He has enough talent to be a key name in this class. But he’s got to start stacking performances to move back up the board.
8. Kalel Mullings, Michigan Wolverines 
Mullings is yet another big back on this list; he's listed at 6-foot-2, 233 pounds. He's enjoying a productive first season as a primary ball carrier and showing plenty of appeal as a next-level running back. The intrigue comes when you consider his path to playing the position.
Mullings was a linebacker as recently as 2022, playing 10 games at that position while moonlighting as a running back on the side. His versatility is certainly appealing, and he has a foundation of special teams experience that coaches are simply going to love.
This variety of experiences gives him many ways to impact a team as a rookie beyond just his promising budding as a ball carrier. But make no mistake, he's a viable developmental starter for what he brings with his light feet, size, and ability to play through contact.
9. Kyle Monangai, Rutgers 
Monangai is a fun player to watch tote the rock. He runs hyperactive and full of energy.
Now, it isn’t fully harnessed, and there’s some inefficiency in how he runs at times as a result, but the foot speed is fast enough to ensure he’s constantly able to adjust and tweak his track. And thanks to his condensed, 5-foot-9 frame, Monangai absorbs contact of all kinds well, too.
Not only is Monangai an active runner with good contact balance, but he’s also productive. Only two FBS players have rushed for more first downs this season than Monangai — Army QB Bryson Daily and Arizona State RB Cameron Skattebo.
It's a testament to two things: how good Monangai has been this season and how valuable he is to Rutgers.
10. DJ Giddens, Kansas State Wildcats 
Giddens is perhaps the most intriguing name on this list, thanks to his background. He didn’t play football at all until his sophomore year of high school, was a preferred walk-on at Kansas State, redshirted his true freshman season, and is now in his redshirt junior season. He’s played five and a half years of football plus a redshirt, period.
Yet, Giddens is graceful and instinctive with the ball in his hands on the second level. I think there’s ample room for growth in his reads and vision — although that has been a growth area for him this season.
Where he shines most is in head-up tackle opportunities. He’s got killer wiggle for a big-bodied back, and you can see how it can totally freeze defensive backs trying to step down to fit the run.
He does run tall. And the pass protection element feels like a restricting factor for him early in his pro career. This, along with the vision development, leaves him ample room for growth.
However, the natural gifts are present and certainly intriguing, assuming you can find a 53-man roster spot for a back you're looking to develop.
